Edward O'Reilly (scholar) facts for kids

Edward O'Reilly (Irish: Éadbhard Ó Raghallaigh) was a smart Irish person. He was born on December 6, 1765, and passed away on August 26, 1830. He spent his life studying and writing about the Irish language in the early 1800s. He is most famous for creating an important Irish-English dictionary.

Edward O'Reilly's Life Story

Edward O'Reilly was born in 1765. His family was originally from County Meath, but his father moved to Harold's Cross in Dublin. There, his father worked as a chemist.

How He Learned Irish

Edward grew up in Dublin and never heard Irish spoken around him. But he started learning the language by chance. In 1794, a young man named Wright was selling many books, mostly old Irish writings. These books had been collected by Morris O'Gorman, who taught Irish to famous scholars. Edward O'Reilly bought these books, which filled five big sacks!

When he looked through them, he found a collection of very rare old writings. He even turned down a lot of money for just one of them. With this amazing collection, he began to study Irish. He worked very hard and became an expert in the ancient language of Ireland.

His Big Achievements

Edward O'Reilly started working on his most famous book, the Irish-English Dictionary. It was published in 1817. This dictionary helped many people learn and understand Irish.

The next year, he became an assistant secretary for a group called the Iberno-Celtic Society. This society wanted to save and share Irish stories and writings. In the 1820s, Edward also wrote a dictionary of Irish writers. He made lists of Irish old writings found in libraries in Dublin, including Trinity College.

Edward was also one of the first people to collect Irish music. His collection is known as "The Farmer and O'Reilly Collection." In May 1830, he was asked to help with the early maps being made by the Ordnance Survey. He advised them on how to write Irish names for places on the maps. He worked on this for about four months before he died. He was paid for his expert help. Another scholar, John O'Donovan, took over his work in October 1830.

His Later Life and Family

Edward O'Reilly passed away on Friday, August 26, 1830, in Harold's Cross, Dublin. His cousin, Father Eugene O'Reilly, who was a priest in Navan, took care of his belongings. Edward's amazing collection of Irish writings was sold that same year. Many of them were bought by the Royal Irish Academy, where they are still kept today.

Edward had an older brother named Andrew O'Reilly (1756 – 1862). Andrew was involved with the United Irishmen, a group that wanted more rights for Irish people. He also wrote for The Times newspaper in Paris. Edward's son was Patrick O'Reilly, who went to school in Navan.